


howzat

by Vintar



Category: Borderlands
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-12
Updated: 2015-11-12
Packaged: 2018-05-01 06:51:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5196329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vintar/pseuds/Vintar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Athena and Janey have a little arrangement, and Sasha is all too happy to oblige.</p>
            </blockquote>





	howzat

Sasha had never had much of an opportunity to visit Sanctuary before the whole Helios thing, but she was pretty sure it wasn't like _this_.

"Coming through!" she chirped in bloody-minded cheer, then strategically deployed an elbow or two. The former didn't make getting through the crowded streets any easier, but the latter definitely did. "Excuse me, important delivery, pardon me!" she shouted over the startled yells and occasional whimpers, until she finally made it to the garage.

The sign on the door read _Bell broken, please make the noise yourself_ in loose, messy handwriting. She pushed it open, and sing-songed "Ring-a-ding-ding?" into the empty office.

The sound of laughter came through the workshop door. "Gidday, Sasha. In here!"

Inside, Janey was bent over a wasp-yellow motorcycle, all sharp edges and go-faster stripes. She gave Sasha a grease-stained wave. "Cheers for bringing those parts."

Sasha balanced the box on her hip, one eyebrow raised. "You can send a caravan into space, but you can't fix a bell?"

Janey snickered. "Nah, the bell's fine. I just got bored and wanted to make all the punters do an impression. Do you know some of the Helios drones don't even know what a bell sounds like? They come in and make default phone alarm sounds." She screwed up her face. "One just went 'bell'."

"Well, it looks like they're keeping you busy." Sasha put the box down, eyeing the bike. "That looks... impressive."

"Joyriding's the hot new thing for the corporate expats here! You know, you take some hot little bike out into the wastes, you see how far you can go without being eaten by skags, you come back and everyone is impressed." She pulled a face. "Most of them just do a loop around Sanctuary and say they went out, though. If they ever saw a skag in the flesh I'm pretty sure they'd wet themselves."

The irritation that had been building during the walk through Sanctuary finally came to a head. "Ugh."

"Now that's a load-bearing 'ugh' if ever I heard one. Something up?"

"Yes!" Sasha threw up her hands. "They're everywhere, you know? There's so many stupid Hyperion assholes all over the place, and we're just... living with them! After all those years of fighting against them, we're all buddy-buddy." She exhaled. "It pisses me off, you know?"

"Hmm." Janey put down her wrench, then made her way across the garage floor.

Sasha stared. "Okay, I definitely don't like the way you're looking at me right now."

"It's my serious face. Trust me, I don't like having to look like this either. Feels weird." 

Janey stopped in front of Sasha, then took her by the wrist. She pulled it closer, splaying Sasha's hand out over the curve of her waist. "Check these out."

It was easy to ignore Janey's scars. The first time Sasha had met her, she'd been a little distracted by the assassin on her tail. Then there had always been so much going on during the whole Gortys thing, and staring felt so rude... it felt more comfortable focusing on Janey's easy smile, the wicked glint in her dark eyes when she was cracking jokes. Neither Janey or Athena had ever mentioned them. It felt natural to look past them, not letting herself stare.

Now, though, Sasha couldn't help but pay attention to them. The whorled mass of scar tissue felt weird under her outstretched palm, both rough and smooth at the same time. She fought the urge to press her fingertips against it, exploring. Janey's grip was still stern around her wrist, holding her in place.

"Uh," Sasha managed. "Good? Bad? What am I supposed to be learning here, exactly?"

Janey snorted. "These were from before Hyperion's time, you know."

Curiosity got the better of her. "Oh?" 

"Dahl messed the moon up but good." Janey tilted her head away, looking to the side. Up close, Sasha could see the way the scar tissue pulled at her jaw, restricting her movement. "Long story short, mining is bad for the environment, the environment got very cranky indeed, and there was a lot of collateral damage. Dahl didn't give a crap. They were public enemy number one, and all that jazz."

Sasha could see where this was going. She pressed her thumb against a whorl of scar tissue on Janey's hip, tracing its curve down until it hit the warm leather of her belt. "...And now everyone's moved on from hating them, right?"

"I don't think you can swing a cat in town without hitting ex-Dahl workers, and a lot of them did a whole lot worse than push pens around." She frowned. "The sheila at the HQ was a big deal there. Maybe. I think? It's hard to tell. She keeps hitting on me while chundering? I'm a bit fuzzy on the details, to be honest."

She stared into space for a moment, caught in the throes of post-Tannis stress disorder, then shrugged. "In the end, you've just gotta move on, mate. Take what you need from the people you hate, make it your own, all that good stuff."

Janey let her hand go, and Sasha reluctantly bought her hand away from the inviting curve of her midriff. "Easier said than done."

"Really?" Janey grinned, eyes crinkling. "Because a little bird told me that you had no problems taking what you needed up on Helios..."

"What? I don't-- oh my god. Oh my god!" Sasha groaned. "I'm gonna kill Fiona!"

"The fate of the planet rested in your hands, and you stuck them into someone's daks."

"I'm going to kill her _so dead_!" Sasha laughed. "Look, it was-- it was just-- I was getting into the con, it kind of takes you over, and it can be hard to find, you know, women into other women..."

"Really? My word, I wonder how you ever made it as a scam artist with observational skills like that."

"Besides you and Athena! You don't count."

"Oh, don't I?" 

Janey leaned forward, and before Sasha could protest, she swept her up.

God, it was easy to forget how tall Janey was. Sasha reached up to cling to her shoulders, whooping as Janey spun around in the world's worst waltz, sweeping her off of her feet until Sasha was crying with laughter. 

Janey beamed. "See? I got moves, I knock the sheilas dead."

"I mean--" Sasha's heart raced, and, a little desperately, she tried to laugh it off. "Yes, but you're kind of off the market. I went to your wedding and everything."

"True, true-- and cheers again for the coffee-maker, it's fab-- but... I'll let you in on a little secret." She leant in. "Sometimes when a woman loves another woman very much, they can make a little arrangement."

Oh. _Oh_. Suddenly, Janey felt very close, and everything felt very complicated. "Arrangements... can definitely be good," Sasha babbled. "It's good, generally, to arrange things, so that they're all. Uh. Arranged."

Without warning, Janey let her go. She fell the few inches back to the ground, landing on her feet. Janey shrugged. "Just puttin' that out there. No reply needed, you know."

"Maybe I'd be interested in replying, though." She frowned. "Oh my god, that was so not smooth. I can be smoother, I swear. Here..."

Sliding her arms around Janey's waist, Sasha tilted her head up invitingly. 

Janey broke the kiss first. "Do you know the one about the Elpian kiss?"

Sasha groaned. "Don't."

"So you _have_ heard it!"

"If you tell me terrible jokes, I'm leaving."

Janey laughed, warm and solid in Sasha's arms. "Whatever the lady says."

When she went in for another kiss, Sasha paused, hesitating. "Are you _sure_ that Athena's not going to come for my head? Like, really sure? I like my head where it is, thank you very much."

"Cross my heart and hope to die, this is all above board. Trust me, my dear lady is a fan of said little arrangement." She wiggled her eyebrows. "You can always ask Fiona."

"Oh my god!" Sasha clapped her hands over her ears. "I'm not hearing this! I'm not hearing anything at all! I'm mysteriously deaf, as of a few seconds ago!"

"A sudden tragedy," Janey intoned solemnly, and ran her hand up underneath Sasha's shirt.

"Damn," she breathed. Sasha had always been one for the girlier things in life, but she leaned into the touch. Janey's calloused hands were refreshingly confident. She reached out automatically to return the favor, but hesitated, her fingers drumming uncertainly against Janey's belt.

Janey noticed. "You can touch me if you want. The scars don't hurt or anything. Athena loves 'em."

"Okay, new ground rule: no talking about your wife while I'm hooking up with you."

"Noted."

The scars went all the way up. Sasha followed them up the planes of Janey's ribcage, then higher, where they wended weird thick curves of scar tissue across her breast.

"Okay, ouch?"

"I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty ouch, yeah." She waggled her eyebrows again. "Want to kiss it better"

Sasha groaned. "Do you use that line a lot? Does it actually work?"

"Mate, you'd be surprised."

Sasha had the opportunity of kissing her to shut her up, and she took it. Janey laughed against her mouth, but when Sasha bit her teasingly her in reproach, she let out a little hungry noise that made Sasha flare with eagerness.

On Helios, Sasha had stripped her mark down, appreciating every curve and plane of her. It had seemed like a luxury, alone together in her lush Hyperion suite, so different to Pandora. In the garage, she settled for undoing Janey's bra underneath her top, and letting her own shirt be rucked up messily.

Janey leaned down to nip at her breasts, that wide mouth hot against her skin. Sasha arched up into it, and when Janey's hands came down to her belt, she rushed to help them. Then all she could do was hang on to the bench for support as Janey parted her legs, unbearably wet already.

"Hang on, I've got something in mind. Trust me?"

Sasha nodded shakily. "Sure, why not?"

With a grin, Janey gathered Sasha up in her arms, then bent her down over the hood of the nearest car. It was still warm from its time out in the sun, the metal of the hood pleasantly warm under Sasha's bared skin. She let herself lean into it as Janey appreciatively dragged her hands down the curve of Sasha's back, tipping her hips up, sliding between her thighs...

...Then they vanished.

"One sec, love! Don't go anywhere!"

With that, Janey jogged away, leaving Sasha half-naked and blinking in confusion on the hood of a car. She could hear the thump of boots as Janey rummaged through the storage room, then return with a triumphant spring in her steps.

"Uh, what--"

"It's a surprise! Trust me. Let's see, now..."

Sasha half-turned, looking over her shoulder at Janey. All she could see was Janey biting her lip, looking down at something in her hands, and then--

Oh. 

"It's just a little thing I put together," Janey explained, as the wand whirred to life. "It's amazing what a few little circuit boards can do these days."

God, it felt good. It slid against her slick flesh with a deep, throaty purr, sending ripples of heady sensation running along her nerves, lighting her up.

Living with Felix and Fiona, she'd never worked up the courage to buy anything like that. The best way to get off was quickly and quietly, just like a scam. Fingers did the job just fine, so that was good enough for her.

Now, she was kinda doubting that whole thing.

Sasha arched her back, pressing back against the toy. The vibrations made her _ache_ , wanting more. "If you stop, I'm going to kill you," she gasped. "I'll send your widow an apology fruit basket."

"You just made the no-wives rule, and you're already breaking it? You really are a shady character."

Sasha made a rude noise and let her head fall back forward against the hood of the car, rolling her face down to hide her expression. There was a click, and the intensity of the vibrations changed, making her squeal. She wanted to cover her face, to hang on to something, to touch Janey, but she was dizzy with it all, drunk on the feeling.

She gripped the edge of the car hood, white-knuckled with tension, and let her climax hit her.

When she got her breath back and looked up, Janey was grinning and holding the toy.

The bright yellow toy.

The toy with a Hyperion logo on it.

"Oh, screw you!" Sasha yelled, laughing.

"Take what you need from your oppressors," Janey said, mock-sagely. "No-one said that killer orgasms can't be part of the healing process, right?"

"You're terrible." Tugging her clothes back into order, Sasha checked her watch, and sighed. "Look, I gotta get back, I've got other package runs to do..." She bit her lip. "But maybe I can come back tomorrow...?"

"You know where to find me." Janey winked. "Just remember to ring the bell."

"Ring-a-ding-ding," Sasha said, and, on wobbly knees, left the garage.

Outside, the street was crowded with people heading to and from Moxxi's saloon. Someone bumped into her, throwing her back.

"It's okay," Sasha said to him. "I'm on a path of forgiveness and healing. I'm growing and learning from my experiences." 

She raised an elbow. "But if you don't get out of my way in the next three seconds, I'm still going to break your ribs."


End file.
